Safety Device

ABSTRACT

Warning devices for use on construction sites and by police and firemen having luminescent segments to facilitate visibility on low light environments are disclosed herein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a nonprovisional application and claims no benefit of right of priority.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to novel safety devices. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to devices for personal safety having high visibility, highly reflective, and luminescent features.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

In developed countries, the construction industry represents six to nine percent of the gross domestic product. For example, in the 2015, the construction output of the United States was estimated to be approximately six hundred billion dollars. Thus, at any given time there are tens of thousands of ongoing construction projects. A major concern for any construction project is maintaining the safety of the workers and the public in and around the construction zone.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) both provide regulations for the safety or workers and the public. One such area that both OSHA and ANSI provide regulations is the warning of individuals as to areas or situations containing a possible hazard. Such warnings serve to prevent accidental entrance to the areas containing possible hazards resulting in enhanced general safety.

One such method of warning is the use of barricade tape. Although both OSHA and ANSI provide regulations for barricade tape, there are many different types of barricade tape, including caution tape, hazard tape, traffic control device tape, police tape, firefighter tape, etc. The OSHA and ANSI both provide for color schemes to indicate the nature of the hazard (e.g., yellow-black tape for physical hazard, white-blue tape for defective machinery).

Another safety device governed by OSHA and ANSI is rebar caps. On any construction project utilizing concrete, rebar may be exposed for extended periods of time. The exposed rebar posses a serious risk during any fall and typical coloration of rebar posses a threat to any individual walking through the construction zone. Accordingly, regulations have been put into place to place rebar caps over the ends of the exposed rebar to provide safety in the event of fall and to provide a visual warning as to the exposed rebar.

Safety fencing may also be employed on construction sites to warn individuals of potential dangers. Traditional safety fencing is temporary fencing having a large mesh design. Like other safety devices, safety fencing is usually a high visibility orange useful for use during daylight hours.

Although barricade tape, rebar caps, and safety fencing do provide some level of safety, it is far from adequate to protect both construction workers and other individuals present on the construction site. Specifically, traditional barricade tapes, rebar caps, and safety fencing provide little warning during the night when most construction sites are left unattended. Consequently, there is a need in the construction industry for safety devices that provide warning to individuals of hazardous areas or situations both during daylight hours and in the darkness of night.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIVE CONCEPT

The exemplary inventive safety devices described herein can be used to provide warnings of hazardous areas or situations to individuals in daylight as well as in darkness. The inventive barricade tape includes an elongated member made from either a synthetic or organic material. The synthetic materials may include thermoplastics, thermosets, resins and polymers. In an effort to remain conscious of the environment the organic material may be biodegradable. In order to provide visibility in dark environments the inventive warning tape includes luminescent features. The luminescence of the invention may be achieved by mixing a luminescent material in the material used to make the tape. In other embodiments, a luminescent coating may be applied to the tape to achieve the desired luminescence.

The inventive warning tape can be segmented into patterns to provide warning to individuals encountering the tape. The inventive tape may also include color coatings and highly reflective elements in order to allow the tape to be visible in a variety of lighting environments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages and other characteristics of the disclosed embodiments will be better understood when attention is directed to the accompanying drawings, wherein identical elements are identified with identical reference numerals and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view of an exemplary embodiment of a roll of barricade tape according to the inventive concept;

FIG. 2 is a view of another exemplary embodiment of a roll of barricade tape according to the inventive concept having highly reflective segments;

FIG. 3 is a view of another exemplary embodiment of a roll of barricade tape according to the inventive concept having alternating segments;

FIG. 4 is a view of another exemplary embodiment of a roll of barricade tape according to the inventive concept, having alternating segments and highly reflective segments;

FIG. 5 is a view of another exemplary embodiment of a roll of barricade tape according to the inventive concept having lettering thereon;

FIG. 6 is a view of another exemplary embodiment of a roll of barricade tape according to the inventive concept having lettering thereon and highly reflective segments;

FIG. 7 is a view of an exemplary embodiment of a rebar cap according to the inventive concept;

FIG. 8 is a view of another exemplary embodiment of a rebar cap according to the inventive concept having at least one highly reflective segment;

FIG. 9 is a view of another exemplary embodiment of a rebar cap according to the inventive concept including a portion having alternating segments;

FIG. 10 is a view of another exemplary embodiment of a rebar cap according to the inventive concept having alternating segments;

FIG. 11 is a view of exemplary embodiment of safety fencing according to the inventive concept;

FIG. 12 is a view of another exemplary embodiment of safety fencing according to the inventive concept having alternating segments; and

FIG. 13 is a view of another exemplary embodiment of safety fencing according to the inventive concept having alternating segments at least one highly reflective segment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT(S)

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail. It should be recognized that the present invention can be practiced in a wide range of other embodiments besides those explicitly described, and the scope of the exemplary embodiments described are expressly not limited.

Directing attention to FIG. 1 a roll of the inventive barricade tape 5 is illustrated. The barricade tape 5 is constructed from a durable, resilient, tear-proof plastic material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, or other similar material. The thickness of the barricade tape 5 could be adjusted based on the application from about 1 mm thickness to about 10 mm thickness. The width of the barricade tape 5 might also be adjusted based on the application in a range from about 2 inches in width to about 6 inches in width.

To form the inventive barricade tape 5, the plastic material from which the barricade tape 5 is formed may be mixed with a luminescent material. The luminescent material may include calcium sulfide with strontium sulfide with bismuth as an activator, zinc sulfide with a copper activator, mixture of zinc sulfide and cadmium sulfide; strontium aluminate active with europium, or any other elements or combinations thereof producing luminescence in the barricade tape 5. One of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that a variety of phosphors exist that may be used and incorporated into the plastic formulation. The luminescent material is added in sufficient quantities to supply the resulting barricade tape 5 with luminescence sufficient to be seen on a dark construction site.

In other exemplary embodiments of the barricade tape 5, the barricade tape 5 might be formed from the standard plastic and a phosphor may be mixed with a binder to form a paint or coating, which is then applied to at least a front surface 10 of the barricade tape 5 may be luminescent. Likewise, the phosphor coating may also be applied to the back surface 15 of the barricade tape 5. In this manner, both the front and back surfaces of the barricade tape 5. It should be understood by those of skill in the art that radioluminescent paints or coatings may be applied to the barricade tape 5. In still other exemplary embodiments, the back surface 15 of the barricade tape may be coated with an adhesive. The application of adhesive would allow the barricade tape to be applied to another surface to provide a warning signal. In embodiments with an adhesive, the release layer may cover the adhesive in order to allow the barricade tape 5 to be stored as a roll.

FIG. 2 is another exemplary embodiment of the inventive barricade tape 20. In this embodiment of the luminescent barricade tape 20, the front surface 25 may be divided into segments. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the barricade tape 20 is divided into segments including a first segment 30, a second segment 35, and a third segment 40 running the length of the barricade tape 20. The segments 30, 35, 40 may be created during the manufacturing process then combined to form a single unit or coatings or paints may be applied to form the different segments 30, 35, 40.

In order to increase the effectiveness of the warning provided by this invention, the barricade tape 20 may employ luminescence and highly reflective features. In order to provide increased visibility at night, segment 35 may be luminescent. The molding or coating processes as provided herein with respect to FIG. 1 may create the luminescence of a segment 35. To increase the visibility of the barricade tape 5, the remaining segments 30, 40 may be made from or coated with a highly reflective material. In this manner, an individual in a construction site at night would be able to easily see the barricade tape 20, whether they had a flashlight or not.

FIG. 3 is another exemplary embodiment of the inventive barricade tape 50. In this embodiment of the luminescent barricade tape 50, the front surface 55 may be stripped. The strips include alternating segments 60 and 65. The alternating segments 60,65 may be created during the manufacturing process then combined to form a single unit or coatings or paints may be applied to form the different segments 60,65. The segments 60,65 can be either luminescent, highly reflective material, or other coatings indicating hazards. Specifically, in some embodiments segments 60 are luminescent material and segments 65 may be either highly reflective material or color coded to indicate the type of hazard. The color-coding may be according to either the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) regulations 1910.22 or American National Standards Institute (“ANSI”) Z535.5-2007.

Directing attention to FIG. 4, another exemplary embodiment of the inventive barricade tape 70 is provided. The exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 is similar to the embodiment in FIG. 3. The barricade tape 70 includes diagonal stripped segments 80, 85. The pattern of the barricade tape 70 allows the tape 70 to be used in a variety of configurations. In one configuration, the diagonal striped segments 80, 85 may comply with standard OSHA or ANSI patterns. In such configurations the line segments 90,95 may be luminescent. Conversely, at least one segment 90,95 may be luminescent while the remaining segment 90,95 is a highly reflective material. In other configurations, the diagonal segments 80,85 may contain at least one luminescent segment 80,85; the alternating segments 80,85 may be color-coded or highly reflective. In such a configuration, the line segments 90,95 may be highly reflective or color-coded.

FIG. 5 is another exemplary embodiment of the inventive barricade tape 100. In this embodiment, the barricade tape 100 may have lettering 105 thereon, such as caution or hazard. The barricade tape 100 includes the lettering 105 and a background 110. In this embodiment, either the lettering 105 or the background 110 may be luminescent or have a luminescent coating. FIG. 6 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of the barricade tape 115. Like FIG. 5, the embodiment in FIG. 6 includes lettering 120 and a background 125. The embodiment in FIG. 6 also includes linear segments 130,135. In this embodiments, the lettering 120 and background 125 may be standard hazard tape coloring. The segments 130,135 include at least one luminescent segment 130,135 and remaining segment might be luminescent or highly reflective. In other configurations of the embodiment in FIG. 6, the background 125 may be luminescent material while the segments 130,135 may be highly reflective. In still other configurations, the background 125 may be highly reflective while the segments 130,135 may be luminescent.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary embodiment of an inventive rebar cap 140 according to the inventive concept. The rebar cap 140 includes a cylinder 145 that is sized to fit over a variety of rebar sizes. The rebar cap 140 additionally has a cap 150 that is able to disperse the energy of an impact. The rebar cap 140 of the inventive concept is either made with a luminescent material or coated in a luminescent material providing the individuals with the ability to spot the rebar cap 140 on a dark construction site.

FIG. 8 is another exemplary embodiment of an inventive rebar cap 155 having a hollow cylinder 160 to accept rebar and a cap 165. As with the embodiment in FIG. 7 the rebar cap 155 may be made with or coated with luminescent material. Additionally, the rebar cap 155 has bands 170,175 circling both the cylinder 160 and the cap 165 of a highly reflective material. In other configurations, the cylinder 160 and the cap 165 may be coated in a highly reflective material, while the bands 170,175 may be a luminescent material.

Directing attention to FIG. 9, another exemplary embodiment of a rebar cap 180 is shown. The rebar cap 180 includes a cylinder 185 for receiving various sizes of rebar and a cap 190 affixed to the cylinder. The cylinder 185 may be made from or coated with a luminescent material or it can be coated with a highly reflective material. In this embodiment, the cap 190 has segments 195,200 thereon. The segments 195,200 may alternate between a luminescent coating or material and highly reflective material to increase the visibility of the rebar cap 180 in a variety of lighting conditions. The exemplary embodiment of the rebar cap 205 in FIG. 10 includes a cylinder 210 for receiving rebar and a cap 215. The entire rebar cap 205, including the cap 215 and cylinder 210, are segmented 220,225. In this embodiment, segments 220,225 alternate between luminescent segments and highly reflective material. In this manner, the entirety of the rebar cap 205 may be seen in a variety of low light situations.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary embodiment of construction fencing 230 according to the inventive concept, wherein the fencing 230 is made from or coated with a luminescent material causing the fencing 230 to glow in the dark. FIG. 12 is another exemplary embodiment of construction fencing 235 having alternating segments 240,245. The alternating segments 240,245 alternate between luminescent segments and segments of either highly reflective material or high visibility. FIG. 13 is yet another exemplary embodiment of the construction fencing 250 having alternating segments 255,260 and parallel segments 265,270. In certain configurations the alternating segments 255,260 alternate between highly reflective and high visibility, while the parallel segments 265,270 are made from or coated with a luminescent material. In still other configurations, the parallel segments 265,270 are high reflective, while the alternating segments 255,260 alternate between high visibility and luminescent.

While the embodiments disclosed described the best modes known to the inventor at the time of filing, the scope of the invention is not to be limited to only the embodiments disclosed herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A warning device, comprising: an elongated member comprising a synthetic material, said elongated member having three parallel segments running longitudinally the length of the elongated member, said synthetic material selected from a group consisting of thermosets, thermoplastics and synthetic resins, wherein at least one parallel segment is a highly reflective material, wherein at least one segment is further segmented into alternating first and second angled stripes, said first angle stripe is luminescent.
 2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a luminescent material added to said synthetic material sufficient to provide luminescence to said elongated member.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein said highly reflective material is a coating applied to the elongated member.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein said first angled stripe is a coating having luminescent properties.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein at least two parallel segments are highly reflective material.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein said two highly reflective segments are positioned along an edge respectively having the third segment interposed in between.
 7. A warning device, comprising: an elongated member comprised of an elastic material; a luminescent material added to the elastic material sufficient to add luminescence to said elongated member; and an opaque coating applied to portions of said elongated member in a pattern sufficient to provide a warning, said coating having color pigments.
 8. The device of claim 1, said elongated member further comprising: three parallel segments running longitudinally allow said elongated member, said segments including a first and third segment along edges of said elongated member and a second segment interposed between said first and third segments.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein said first and third segments are coated in a highly reflective material.
 10. The device of claim 8, wherein said second segment includes a series of first and second angled stripes in an alternating pattern.
 11. The device of claim 8, wherein said first and third segments are luminescent.
 12. The device of claim 10, wherein said first angled stripes are luminescent.
 13. The device of claim 12, wherein said second angled stripes are coated with an opaque material.
 14. The device of claim 9, wherein said second segment is luminescent.
 15. The device of claim 10, wherein said second segment includes a series of first and second angled stripes in an alternating pattern.
 16. The device of claim 15, wherein said second angled stripes are coated with an opaque material.
 17. The device of claim 16, wherein said luminescent material is selected from a group consisting of: calcium sulfide with strontium sulfide with bismuth as an activator; zinc sulfide with a copper activator; mixture of zinc sulfide and cadmium sulfide; and strontium aluminate active with europium.
 18. A warning device, comprising: an elongated member comprised of an elastic material, said elongated member further comprising three parallel segments running longitudinally allow said elongated member, said segments including a first and third segment along edges of said elongated member and a second segment interposed between said first and third segments; a luminescent material added to the elastic material sufficient to add luminescence to said elongated member; and an opaque coating applied to portions of said elongated member in a pattern sufficient to provide a warning, said coating having color pigments, wherein said first and third segments are coated in a highly reflective material, wherein said second segment includes a series of first and second angled stripes in an alternating pattern, wherein said first angled stripes are luminescent, wherein said second angled stripes are coated with an opaque material.
 19. The device of claim 16, wherein said luminescent material is selected from a group consisting of: calcium sulfide with strontium sulfide with bismuth as an activator; zinc sulfide with a copper activator; mixture of zinc sulfide and cadmium sulfide; and strontium aluminate active with europium. 